


Pugilist

by RyansArchive



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Drabble, F/F, F/M, Female Protagonist, Roegadyn (Final Fantasy XIV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25051939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyansArchive/pseuds/RyansArchive
Summary: Sometimes, you just want to be a dancer but your hardened piracy and connection to the deep Mother Crystal set you on a course for bloodshed instead.
Relationships: Baderon Tenfingers & Warrior of Light, Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn/Warrior of Light





	Pugilist

"What are ye looking for in the city?"

Sweigral remained silent. She did not know.

As waves lipped against the hard packed planks of the galley, Sweigral peered across the sea and spotted the towering bridges of Limsa Lominsa. It had been her home once, before she set out on her own.

Up ahead were all the renegades and dreams she had grown up with. There was a charming bar -- The Drowning Wench -- and an okay barkeep she usually tossed around in the sack when she came to port.

Her childhood friends -- most lost at sea. But a few of their families roamed the merchant hall, and she was fond of Tucker's mom who was a blacksmith at the local guild.

The Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss -- her first church.

It had been five years since the Calamity had upended her life.

\---

Three nights and four beers later, Sweigral sat in the Drowning Wench. Baderon was wiping things down. Though Sweigral had traveled far, there was nothing quite like being a Sea Wolf in a Sea Wolf town like Limsa.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Sweigral turned and saw Admiral Merlwyb duck under the low hanging wooden entry. She was dressed down, out of her uniform.

"Should I be offended?" Sweigral asked cheekily. "HICCUP"

"You should be flattered. How are you recovering?"

The admiral sat across from her, and it made Sweigral nervous. The crystal...Mother Crystal...had changed her. It was not just a vision of the Cataclysm that she had seen.

Being connected to Aetheryte had made her see everything.

All at once she had seen the lives of everyone she knew from beginning to end. She caught glimpses of stories from realms she could not recognize and species strange and mystical. Her own life seemed to dissolve and join with others. Had she been others? Or was it a familial bond, connecting each primal force in Eorzea with every other? Only one story stood out as the unifying thread. Sweigral saw a monk. In some worlds she was called Dirma the sand dancer. In other worlds he was called Calavan. And in some, Cornelia. She carried the same energy in her fractal as Sweigral had felt the first time she stepped foot in the Pugilist's Guild.

The Master Pugilist was a free-spirited, dedicated fury. She harnessed raw power in her body, and trained her mind to interact in one accord. There was unimaginable pain Sweigral -- no -- Cornelia, had been trying to escape.

\---

"Hello? Don't tell me you've tapped out of adventuring. You're one of my finest envoys."

Sweigral heard once again the gentle music of the city. And she appreciated the Admiral's concern, though she couldn't understand.

"Heh. My ship leaves tomorrow, my liege."

"Merl."

Sweigral looked up into the Admiral's eyes and saw her demeanor had changed to something like compassion. It was always hard to tell with fellow Roes.

Wait. It was admiration.

Sweigral felt her smallclothes wet, and against all propriety took in the older woman's deep grey eyes, hawk nose and faded full lips.

Fuck. She had hoped to sober up before seducing her.

At least she knew Merlwyb would not let the ship set sail to Gridania without her.

**Author's Note:**

> I know nothing about Final Fantasy 14.


End file.
